This absolutely incredible pearl captures the entire rainbow on a single pearl. Soufflé Freshwater pearl bought at the Hong Kong Jewellery Show, 2013.
This quick primer on Tahitian pearl colors aims to tackle the most common questions about their world-famous natural colors.
Tahitian pearls are probably THE most colorful pearls in the world today … the endless variety that is presented to pearl shoppers is one of the most attractive and well-known attributes of Tahitian pearls.
All pearl colors are broken into two major parts:
Body Color and Overtone
Body color is the first, primary base color of the pearls. In the case of Tahitian pearls, the "body color" of the pearls can be described as very light gray running the gamut through to deeper, darker shades of very dark gray to even jet black.
The very dark gray body colors of these Tahitian pearls provide a great base color to enhance the secondary colors. The blue-green to green pearl overtones on these Tahitian pearls are the most prevalent colors you'll see with these black pearls.
What makes Tahitian pearls famous are their unique, colorful overtones. These can range from pale, shim Silver to Aubergine (French for "eggplant") and even Blue. Overtones are a secondary color or tint that appears to "float" over the main body color of the pearls.
What creates a necklace's particular shade or hue, or even boldly saturated color is the combination of the pearl's overtone and body color. These combinations are nearly endless … no two pearls are exactly alike.
The most famous Tahitian overtones are:
This necklace exudes a beautiful combination of Tahitian South Sea, Golden South Sea, and Freshwater Cultured pearls. The necklace begins with 9mm pearls in the back and graduates perfectly to a beautiful 11mm Tahitian pearl centerpiece. The strand is AAA quality with 'Very High' grade luster, our highest grade available.
